The Church of St. Francis of Assisi

Church in Old Goa, Goa

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Photo by Aaron
CThe Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is located in Old
Goa, state of Goa, India. It is in the Terreiro de Sabao, the
beautiful large compound in which is also the Se Cathedral and the erstwhile palace of the
Archbishop of the East Indies. It is to the west of the Se Cathedral and the palace connects the two buildings. Attached
to the church is a convent, which has been converted into a museum by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1964.

History

In 1517, a group of Franciscan friars arrived in Goa and sought permission from the then
Portuguese Governor to preach Christianity in Goa. Having got that, they proceeded to build a small chapel with three
altars and a choir. In 1521, the monks enlarged the chapel into a church, which was consecrated in 1602 and was
dedicated to the Holy Ghost. The church was razed in 1616 and another was built in its place while retaining only the
gateway made of black stone.
Adjoining the church is a building which was once a convent. Originally, the Friars
built a group of rooms as accommodation for themselves. Eventually in 1529, those rooms were converted into a convent.
In 1835, the convent was closed by the Portuguese Government and in 1664, after the liberation of Goa; it was converted
into a museum.

Architecture and Construction

The church faces west and is
connected to the Se Cathedral by the palace of the previous Archbishop. Built with red laterite stones and plastered
with lime, the façade is Tuscan with two octagonal towers on either side. The entrance, retained from the earlier
structure is distinctly Manueline . In the niche
on the façade is a statue of Our Lady of Miracles which was brought from Jaffna in Sri
Lanka. Bearing the insignia of the Franciscans is a painted wooden statue of St. Francis on the pedestal.
As
one enters the church there is a pulpit on the left, carved with beautiful floral patterns. There is a rib-vaulted nave
without aisles. Three chapels on each side are separated by internal buttresses, decorated with floral frescoes. The
buttresses also support a gallery. Impressive 17th-century paintings of the Italian school depict scenes from the Holy
Bible.
Beneath the vault is the richly gilded altar with rich Baroque and Corinthian features. There is a
tabernacle, used to display the Holy Sacrament, supported by statues of four evangelists, above which is the main altar
with a belfry on the top. Large statues of St. Francis of Assisi and Christ on the Cross are placed on the altar. Below
the statues are inscribed the vows of the Saint of poverty, humility and obedience. Large paintings on wood on either
side of the altar depict the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Museum of the
Archaeological Survey of India

After the convent was ordered to be closed by the Portuguese administration in 1835,
the quarters were mainly used as accommodation. In 1964, the Archaeological Survey of India converted it into a museum.
It was reorganized in 1982.
The museum has eight galleries, and displays antiquities and artifacts from the
pre-historic period to the late medieval period. Pillars, wooden sculptures, capitals and postal stamps are exhibited
along with 60 portraits of the Viceroys and Governors of the Portuguese era. Many objects belonging to the era, of both
Portuguese and Indian origins, are displayed and give the visitor a good idea of the life in those times.
Armaments used by the Portuguese in Goa, Portraits of Vasco da Gama and Com Joa de Castro, a statue of
Alfonso de Albuquerque, a bronze statue of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a model of Vasco da Gama’s São Gabriel , 10 centuries' old basalt
statues of the Hindu deities, Surya and Lord Vishnu, and slabs with inscriptions in Persian and Marathi are some of the
exhibits that a visitor will find interesting.

Getting There

Old Goa is well connected with
the capital city of Panjim as well as other cities by public transport. Taxis and auto-rickshaws are available.
In Goa, motorcycle pilots operate as taxis and are most suitable and economical for someone travelling alone. Though
accommodation is scarce in Old Goa, the city of Panjim, ten kilometers away has plenty of lodging and boarding
facilities for all budgets.

Other Places of Interest

Of the 60 churches supposed to
have been there in Old Goa in the 18th-century, only seven are still standing along with a chapel. The Se Cathedral, the
Basilica of Bom Jesus with St. Francis Xavier’s tomb in it, the Church of Our
Lady of Rosary, St. Augustine’s Tower, the Church of St. Cajetan and the
Chapel of St. Catherine are all places of interest and are of historical importance. Besides, there is plenty
for a tourist to see in Goa, from the beaches on the coastline to the waterfalls in the higher reaches of the Western Ghats. Temples, some of them dating to the 11th-century, exhibit the architectural
styles of different eras.

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